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He said: “To have more of these lounges would be difficult at the moment as we do not have the space.

“We would like to grow if the opportunity arose, but there’s no opportunity to do that at the moment.

“Our offices take up the first floor of the new Robin Hood stand, and if there was a facility close to the ground we could potentially move those offices and use that space.

“And it would be good to redevelop the south stand – with standing at the front, seats in the middle and pitch-facing lounges at the back – but right now we don’t have the £14 million necessary to do that.

“I would like to have more lounges because all the indications at that that is something fans want, but even with the lounges in place, the revenue out of a new stand would be less than now – so it would be difficult justifying borrowing that kind of money from the bank.”

Fans on the Crumbie terrace (Image: Mike Sewell)

In an interview with Insider Mr Cohen went further, saying there were "no plans" to redevelop the Crumbie.

He said "historical and traditional" reasons prevented the move, and any new stand would do little to increase the ground's capacity.

Last year Mr Cohen tweeted that there was a "serious need" for better toilets and catering facilities in the old stand.

It cost just £21,000 to build and opened in 1920.

Leicester Tigers chief executive Simon Cohen (Image: Alex Hannam)

Tigers missed out on hosting Rugby World Cup games in 2015 but the King Power Stadium made the list.

A number of reasons were cited for the decision, including the failure to redevelop the Crumbie and the size of the pitch.

Mr Cohen hit out at the decision, saying: “Rugby World Cups should not be just about the finances.

“It should be a battle for the heart and soul of rugby people and you would like to think that rugby stadiums would play their part in that battle.

"As far as Leicester and the Leicester fans are concerned, I think they have missed that opportunity."